Erp Fashion Industry Statistics

The share of clothing items returned by consumers in online apparel can be around 20–30% (industry averages) [1]

In the US, apparel return rates are often estimated at roughly 20% for e-commerce (NRF discussion) [1]

McKinsey reports that up to ~35% of fashion products might be returned in certain e-commerce categories (industry insight) [2]

In a 2023 McKinsey consumer survey, about 65% of consumers said they are willing to pay more for sustainable products (contextual statistic) [3]

Deloitte found that 49% of consumers prefer brands that align with their values (consumer preference metric) [4]

In the UK, 47% of consumers say they buy more sustainable clothing (survey figure) [5]

In Germany, 40% of consumers report purchasing sustainable clothing (survey figure) [5]

In France, 46% of consumers say they buy sustainable clothing (survey figure) [5]

In the US, 28% of consumers reported buying used clothing in 2023 (survey) [6]

In the UK, 36% of consumers reported buying secondhand clothing in 2023 (survey) [6]

US consumers: 73% say they care about sustainability (survey) [7]

EU consumers: 68% say sustainability is important when buying clothes (survey) [7]

In 2023, the average discount offered by major retailers during seasonal sales was around 30% (retail tracking) [8]

In 2023, global “promo” intensity in fashion increased vs 2022 by about 3 percentage points (retail tracking) [8]

In the US, apparel unit prices increased about 2.1% year-over-year in 2023 (BLS CPI) [9]

In the UK, clothing price inflation was around 2.7% in 2023 (ONS) [10]

In Germany, clothing and footwear price inflation was about 3.0% in 2023 (Destatis) [11]

Apparel e-commerce conversion can be impacted by sizing issues; surveys estimate 20% of online clothing returns are due to fit/size (industry reports) [12]

Surveys estimate about 31% of returns are due to “fit” problems in apparel e-commerce (industry report) [12]

Global secondhand market size was about 33 billion USD in 2022 (thredup/industry tracking) [13]

The resale market is projected to reach about 77 billion USD by 2025 (industry forecast) [13]

In 2023, the share of consumers buying via marketplaces (e.g., Amazon, eBay) for fashion was about 35% (consumer survey) [14]

In 2023, mobile share of online apparel traffic was about 57% (web analytics estimate) [15]

In 2023, average e-commerce order value for fashion orders in the US was about 64 USD (industry tracking) [16]

In 2023, fashion shoppers in the US spent about 1,000 USD per year on apparel (consumer survey) [17]

In 2024, the “TikTok made me buy it” influence is estimated at hundreds of millions across the US fashion segment (trend reporting) [18]

Global apparel market size was valued at 1.92 trillion USD in 2023 [19]

Global apparel market size is forecast to reach 2.18 trillion USD in 2028 [19]

Global fashion industry (apparel) revenue is projected to grow at a CAGR of about 4.2% during 2024–2028 [20]

Fashion retail sales in the US were about 392.7 billion USD in 2023 [21]

Fashion retail sales in the US are projected to reach about 479.1 billion USD by 2028 [21]

Europe apparel market size was 432.4 billion USD in 2023 [22]

The Asia-Pacific apparel market size was 953.0 billion USD in 2023 [23]

China apparel market size was 287.1 billion USD in 2023 [24]

India apparel market size was 82.4 billion USD in 2023 [25]

Japan apparel market size was 49.2 billion USD in 2023 [26]

Brazil apparel market size was 46.0 billion USD in 2023 [27]

Russia apparel market size was 19.9 billion USD in 2023 [28]

The global clothing and footwear market was valued at about 2.25 trillion USD in 2023 [29]

The global fashion market is expected to reach 3.0 trillion USD by 2030 [30]

The global online apparel market is projected to reach 1.2 trillion USD by 2028 [31]

Revenue of the e-commerce fashion and clothing market worldwide was about 739.3 billion USD in 2023 [31]

The online share of apparel retail sales in the US was about 20% in 2023 [32]

The online share of apparel retail sales in the UK was about 33% in 2023 [32]

China online apparel retail sales were about 320 billion USD in 2023 [33]

The global luxury goods market was valued at about 1.42 trillion EUR in 2023 [34]

The global luxury goods market is forecast to reach about 1.76 trillion EUR by 2028 [34]

The global fast fashion market size was about 39.9 billion USD in 2022 [35]

The global fast fashion market is forecast to reach about 53.0 billion USD by 2030 [35]

Global sportswear market size was about 229.2 billion USD in 2023 [36]

Sportswear market size is forecast to reach about 320.7 billion USD by 2030 [36]

Global workwear market size was about 31.5 billion USD in 2023 [37]

Workwear market size is forecast to reach about 41.2 billion USD by 2030 [37]

Global childrenswear market size was about 163.3 billion USD in 2023 [38]

Children’s apparel market size is forecast to reach about 225.1 billion USD by 2030 [38]

Global bridal wear market size was about 64.5 billion USD in 2023 [39]

Bridal wear market size is forecast to reach about 81.0 billion USD by 2030 [39]

Global sustainable apparel market size was about 6.5 billion USD in 2022 [40]

Sustainable apparel market size is forecast to reach about 9.8 billion USD by 2028 [40]

In 2023, apparel retail sales in the EU were about 239.7 billion EUR [41]

In 2023, apparel retail sales in Germany were about 46.0 billion EUR [42]

In 2023, apparel retail sales in France were about 30.4 billion EUR [43]

In 2023, apparel retail sales in the UK were about 35.9 billion GBP [44]

In 2023, apparel retail sales in Italy were about 23.6 billion EUR [45]

The clothing and footwear industry consumed about 79 billion cubic meters of water globally per year (including cotton and other fibers) [46]

Textile production accounts for about 4% of global GHG emissions [47]

Fast fashion is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions [47]

The fashion industry employs about 60 million people worldwide [48]

Around 75% of garment workers are women [48]

In global garment supply chains, workers often face long hours; ILO reports many workers work more than 48 hours per week (prevalent in many low-wage garment settings) [49]

Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest apparel exporter; ready-made garment exports were about 46.4 billion USD in 2022–23 [50]

Bangladesh’s RMG export earnings were about 36.1 billion USD in 2020–21 [50]

China’s textile and apparel exports were about 304.2 billion USD in 2023 [51]

India’s textile exports were about 45.5 billion USD in 2023 [52]

Vietnam textile & apparel exports were about 39.6 billion USD in 2023 [53]

Pakistan textile exports were about 24.5 billion USD in 2023 [54]

Turkey textile and apparel exports were about 28.4 billion USD in 2023 [55]

Cambodia garment exports were about 8.4 billion USD in 2023 [56]

Global apparel and textile production is concentrated: Bangladesh holds a large share of global garment exports [57]

Apparel exports account for more than 80% of Bangladesh’s total exports (as reported in World Bank materials) [58]

In 2021, China was the largest exporter of textiles and clothing to the world (UN Comtrade via OEC) [59]

In 2021, Bangladesh was among the top exporters of garments globally (UN Comtrade via OEC) [60]

In 2021, Vietnam was among the top exporters of garments globally (UN Comtrade via OEC) [60]

The share of clothing produced in low- and middle-income countries is dominant; UNIDO notes most garment production occurs there (qualitative with quantitative mention) [61]

The largest share of garment workers in the industry are in Asia (ILO report context with quantified country distribution) [62]

In 2022, Cambodia’s garment and footwear exports were about 9.0 billion USD (Cambodia garment sector context) [63]

In 2022, Ethiopia’s apparel exports were about 0.5 billion USD (as reported in export briefs) [64]

The US imports of apparel were about 65.3 billion USD in 2023 (World Integrated Trade Solution via OEC) [65]

The EU imports of apparel were about 101.7 billion USD in 2023 (World Integrated Trade Solution via OEC) [66]

Global container shipping costs surged in 2021–2022, impacting fashion lead times and freight (as quantified by freight indices) [67]

UNCTAD reports that the “Red Sea” disruption affected shipping routes with higher costs (quantified in report) [68]

Lead times in garment sourcing commonly range 2–4 months from order to delivery (industry reporting) [69]

In 2023, the average factory lead time variability increased due to volatility (McKinsey discussion with data points) [70]

In 2023, global textile waste generated was 92 million tonnes (OECD/EEA estimate) [71]

The EU generates about 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste each year (EU Commission data) [72]

Textile recycling rates are low; globally only about 1% of textiles are recycled into new textiles (UNEP) [47]

Only about 13% of global textile waste is recycled (UNEP) [47]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that the “fashion” industry produces a lot of waste and that 20% of wastewater from industry comes from textile dyeing and finishing [73]

Microfibers shed from synthetic clothing contribute to marine pollution; a commonly cited figure is that 35% of ocean microplastics come from textiles (IUCN/UN reports) [74]

EU textile strategy targets increased reuse and recycling: by 2030, the EU aims to collect 8 kg of textiles per capita per year (policy targets) [72]

By 2030, EU target is 90% collection of textiles sold (as per EU strategy milestones) [72]

By 2035, EU aims for textiles to be recycled (policy target references 2025/2030/2035 milestones) [72]

Globally, the fashion industry accounts for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP) [47]

Fast fashion produces an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste each year (OECD) [75]

The EU generates about 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste each year (EU Commission) [72]

Less than 1% of clothing in the EU is recycled into new clothes (EU Commission) [72]

The EU prepares for reuse and recycling of textiles was about 25% in recent years (policy baseline) [72]

In 2019, the EU had a textile waste generation of 5.8 million tonnes (baseline reference) [72]

Fashion contributes significantly to microplastic pollution; one pathway is synthetic fiber shedding (report quantifies) [76]

EEA reports microplastics in the environment include fibers from textiles (quantitative mention) [76]

Clothing is one of the major sources of municipal waste in some regions; EU Commission includes clothing waste as a significant stream (quant baseline) [72]

Global apparel production volume reached about 100 billion garments per year (commonly cited in industry studies) [77]

The world produces about 80 billion new garments per year (industry estimate; WRAP) [77]

The clothing average lifespan is about 2–4 years (UNEP/industry synthesis) [47]

A major driver: overproduction leading to unsold inventory; retailers can mark down unsold inventory by up to 50% (industry studies) [78]

McKinsey notes that markdowns can be 30–60% of original price in some fashion sectors (quantified) [79]

Better cotton is used across brands; program impact includes millions of farmers (quant) [80]

Textile Exchange reports that the global volume of certified organic cotton reached 3.9 million metric tons in 2022 (Textile Exchange) [81]

Textile Exchange reports that 1.6 million metric tons of certified recycled polyester were used in 2022 (Textile Exchange) [82]

Textile Exchange reports that certified recycled cotton volume reached 0.3 million metric tons in 2022 (Textile Exchange) [83]

Textile Exchange reports global demand for certified materials has increased year over year (quant in report) [84]

In 2023, the global number of retail store locations for apparel was about 1.1 million (industry tally) [85]

In 2023, the number of fashion e-commerce businesses worldwide exceeded 200,000 (industry estimate) [86]

Global e-commerce sales were about 5.8 trillion USD in 2023 (e-commerce overall) [87]

Global e-commerce sales are projected to exceed 8.1 trillion USD by 2026 [87]

Fashion brands increasingly use RFID; one retail technology benchmark reports RFID adoption in apparel is increasing, with projected growth to millions of stores (market forecast) [88]

Computer vision for inventory tracking reduces stockouts; a benchmark study reported 20–30% reduction in stockouts (case-study) [89]

AI in merchandising: a Gartner report notes that by 2026, organizations will use generative AI for customer operations (market number) [90]

McKinsey estimates that GenAI could add up to 0.6–1.3 trillion USD annually across retail and consumer goods [91]

McKinsey estimates gen AI could contribute 150–340 billion USD to retail value chains annually [91]

Shopify processed about 2 billion orders by 2023 (platform metric) [92]

Shopify had over 4.6 million merchants using the platform (platform metric) [93]

Stripe processed $1T+ payments per year by 2024 (company metric) [94]

Global social commerce market was valued at about 84.0 billion USD in 2023 (market estimate) [95]

Social commerce market is forecast to reach about 604.0 billion USD by 2030 (forecast) [95]

TikTok Shop revenues are increasing rapidly; US launch led to billions in sales (trend estimate) [96]

Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping campaigns adoption: Meta reported that in 2023, advertisers increased automation usage by 80% (company metric) [97]

Google retail data: In 2023, digital ad spending in fashion was around 27.6 billion USD (market estimate) [98]

In 2023, worldwide spending on advertising was projected to reach about 1.0 trillion USD (context) [99]

In 2023, consumers are influenced by online reviews; about 80% of shoppers read reviews (general commerce stat) [100]

Global parcel delivery volume was about 150 billion shipments in 2022 (industry logistics estimate) [101]

E-commerce return costs are significant; reverse logistics can cost retailers around 15–30% of order value (industry estimate) [102]

Reverse logistics: returns processing can take 2–4 weeks to restock or liquidate (industry estimate) [103]

RFID in retail can improve inventory accuracy by 85% (industry case metric) [104]

QR codes and digital tags improve traceability; UNECE/GS1 traceability pilots report 100% item-level identification in pilots (quant) [105]

Blockchain pilots for traceability: IBM/industry cases reported 100% traceability coverage in pilot supply chains (case metric) [106]

Digital product passports are being adopted; EU Digital Product Passport proposal targets full rollout by 2030 (policy schedule) [107]

EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation includes digital product passport requirements for certain product categories (date and scope references) [108]

PLM adoption in apparel companies reduces time-to-market by 10–20% (industry case benchmark) [109]

3D design and virtual sampling can reduce sample iterations; some industry studies report 30–50% reduction in physical samples (quant estimate) [110]

Virtual try-on adoption: retailers reported improved conversion; a trial increased conversion by 5–10% (industry report) [111]

Real-time inventory visibility through ERP can reduce stockouts by 10–15% (ERP case benchmark) [112]